A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love
Summary The recrutation goes smoothly; Ala Rubra's forces are ready to finally lay an attack on the Black Tongues' headquarters in Salem. After succesfully convincing Alabaster C. Torrington and Jacqueline O'Lantern's Ala Alba faction to join the war, Basil Hawkins has to face his toughest challenge yet: his former and current girlfriend together! Characters *Basil Hawkins *Theodora McGuiness *Stephanie Walker *Giovanni Falcone *Jack Rakan (mentioned) *Jessica Samedi *Francesca Minuit Story The day started slowly in the Shadowcrest, mostly because of Jack Rakan's absence. Without his usual morning training routine, the rest of the house was granted with additional three hours of sleep, Morpheus and Hypnos be praised. Theo was the first one to wake up. She quietly dropped the silk, green bed sheet and - placing a gentle kiss on her fiancée's cheek - went downstairs to fix some breakfast for everybody. Although the house was usually operating on 'everyone-makes-his-own-food' policy, Theo felt a need to cook today. Being the daughter of Aphrodite she was 'practically perfect in every way' as said by Basil's grandfather which always made her smile, considering Mary Poppins being one of her favorite movies. However, the only thing she didn't even try to pretend to be good at was cooking; of course, she managed to make some basic dishes but it wasn't anything fancy or restaurant quality. With that in mind, she decided to make today something good for the entire family. When she entered the kitchen, she noticed Seth sitting, or rather sleeping, by the table. Her violet dye was slowly wearing off, revealing mousy brown hair spread across the table surface. She had a simple, white tank top and a loose grey pajama bottom which made her look like she just completed a morning training, although Theo knew that was far from truth; Seth might've been an athletic person but she was possibly the second laziest person in the house. Only my Basil can top you - she thought. She ruffled the other girl's hair which made the head raise a bit. With bags under her half-closed eyes and a small stream of drool in the mouth's corner she looked like a victim of a crazy party which just ended. "Huh, hey Theo." Seth yawned, scratching the top of her head. "Where am I?" "Shadowcrest?" Daughter of Aphrodite tilted her head to the side. "The kitchen?" "Oh, good." She replied. "So I've made it home. Coffee?" "Coming right up." Theo smiled. "Rough night?" "Our target is a real party animal." Seth muttered. "Jack's right now with her during the day so I can sleep." Theo chuckled as she recalled the unusual request they've received. One of the alumni of Camp Half-Blood, son of Athena, asked Ala Rubra to protect his daughter until her satyr appears. From the start, the girl turned out to be quite a princess; demanding and snobby. However, the coin was good so Stephanie and Jack accepted the job. The noise upstairs alerted Theo that Basil was awake and in the shower. That means she has about ten minutes to finish breakfast. "Good morning, ragazze." A man entered the kitchen; he had grey hair combed back, a prominent black moustache and vibrant green eyes. His voice was a little raspy with distinctive Italian accent. It was really a rare occasion for him to come downstairs. "Mr. Hawkins," Theo greeted Basil's grandfather with a smile. "That's a pleasant surprise. Planning to eat with us?" "Morning, Mr. H." Seth waved at him carelessly. "I've just come to give you this." John Hawkins placed three red envelopes on the table right before Seth. "Looked important, so I thought you may want to take a look." "Fancy." Seth muttered, gazing at one of the envelopes. "Morning, everybody." Basil Hawkins joined the kitchen. His green eyes, sandy brown hair and five o' clock shadow made Theo's heart skip a beat. As always, her fiancée was looking amazing. He wore plain white t-shirt, loose pants and green slippers on bare feet. "Hey, Basil." Theo smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Looking good, handsome." Seth chuckled, giving him a bump to the shoulder. "In for another wizard hunting today?" "Was going to," Basil nodded. "Well, I've already convinced Alabaster and Jackie, that's a good sign." He looked at the table. "What's this?" "Dunno." Seth replied. "Looks nice though." Basil grabbed one of the envelopes and opened it. Inside, was a purple piece of paper with a text in golden ink. The Silver Lion Club wishes to invite Mr. Basil Hawkins to a special musical performance of the amazing Jasmine Night July 7th, 9 p.m. "Well, it's an invitation. Personalized even." Basil said, scratching his chin. Seth grabbed another envelope since none of them were signed and ripped it open. "This one's for Theo." She said, handing the invitation to the daughter of Aphrodite, who opened the last one. "And this one's Jack's." Theo said. "Gramps," Basil looked at John. "Ever heard of this Silver Lion place?" "Si," Older wizard nodded. "It's a jazz club in New Orleans; I did a couple of shows there, nothing special." "Hey, wait." Seth placed a finger on Basil's invitation. "July 7th. It's today." "Whoever sent this expects us to travel from Manhattan to New Orleans in less than 12 hours." Basil said. "It would take at least 20 by car." John said. "Which means person who sent it knows about magic." "Oh, wonderful. So it's only one option." Basil sighed. "When we talk magic and New Orleans the result is always Jessica Samedi." "Another demigod?" Theo asked. "Yes. She's a daughter of Hecate, and the famous voodoo queen of Louisiana." Basil rubbed his forehead. "Also, what's worse, she's my ex-girlfriend." O''' In the next hours the two biggest bathrooms in the entire mansion were occupied. Theo and, surprisingly, Seth were doing there all sorts of women rituals and magic unknown to Basil. Since Jack wasn't able to join them, being busy as a chaperone, a simple spell casted on the invitation changed MR. JACK RAKAN into MS. STEPHANIE WALKER. Still, if it was really Jessica who sent those, it would be a very dangerous trip. They will be forced to play her game on her territory with her toys - the worst possible scenario. This entire strategy planning was interrupted by a smack to the head. "Hey, the Thinker," Seth said. "I asked 'how do I look'?" There were two things that were coming to mind when looking at Seth in her current attire: beautiful and unusual at the same time. Despite being the kind of girl who would kill herself instead of wearing high heels, she managed to create an impressive look. She had an emerald sundress with black belt holding her waist, elegant sandals, purple lipstick and eyes circled with black liner. Basil noticed that she died her hair blonde. "Not a word about the shoes." She threatened. "Or I'll stick that heel up your malaka." "Are you guys ready?" Theo asked, coming downstairs. Now, if in Seth's case Basil couldn't find proper words to describe her outfit, in Theo's case his mind didn't even bother to concentrate on words because this woman was just stunning. She had navy blue empire style gown, reaching to her ankles, golden sandals on high heels, pearl necklace and perfectly straight hair with two Bailey braids circling around her head. Bloody red lipstick and light make-up was making her even more irresistible. "You're drooling." Seth nudged Basil, bringing his mind back to the room. "Anyway," Theo winced "Are you really going like this?" "What do you mean?" Basil looked at his clothes. He had his regular jeans, dress shirt, black vest and his distressed leather overcoat. "You go right up and change." Theo put her hands on her hips, giving him 'do-not-argue' glare. Son of Hecate only sighed and went upstairs. In the meantime, Seth sat on the table. "You're fine with it?" She asked. "With what?" "You know," Daughter of Nemesis scratched her head. "you're his current girl, this Jessica is the former... Don't you think they may have still some hidden feelings?" "Nope." Theo beamed her a smile. "I sense no love aura coming from Basil when he mentions this girl. Daughter of Aphrodite, remember? That's how I can tell that there is nothing between you two after the werewolves case." "Don't even mention this!" Seth's cheeks turned flaming red. "Don't. Ever. Mention this." "What, did you enjoy the aftermath?" Theo grinned. "Basil certainly did." "Shut up!" Daughter of Nemesis went even more red and her voice jumped up couple of tones. "Come on, Seth, I'm not mad." Theo smiled, petting her friend's head. "Because I know there is no love between you guys." "Ready?" As Seth was still speechless Basil came downstairs. At least he changed the quality of his clothes. Now he had knee-length black frock coat, matching black vest and pant, elegant black shoes and a scarf. "Now that's what I call class." Theo grabbed the lapels of his coat and forced him to lean in order to kiss him on the lips. "We have 30 minutes to get to New Orleans and find the club. Got our invitations?" "Right here." Basil tapped the pocket inside his coat. "Step aside." He grabbed a pinch of grey powder from the bowl on a table and smeared it on a wall, leaving a stain. From this stain he created a rune which, just after becoming complete, turned white and infused with the wall which then looked like it crumbled into a dust revealing a swirling portal of milky fog. "I've been in New Orleans once." Basil explained. "This will take us near the St. Louis' cemetery and then we'll just ask somebody." "Let's go." Seth said. "Do you think we'll have a chance to stop for some food?" '''O The Silver Lion had an entire two story building for itself and it certainly was a high quality place. They even had a bouncer at the front door; a muscular, bald man in sunglasses - despite the fact it was nighttime. After checking their invitation, he let Basil and the girls in. "That guy was creepy." Seth muttered, after they went through the front door. "Right?" Theo said. "I felt almost naked when he was looking at me. Pretty gross feeling, to be honest." "Remind me to punch him in the eye later." Basil answered, pulling back a red veil, revealing the main club chamber. It was a large hall with a stage on one side and the bar on the opposite. In between there were small tables for maximum amount of four people. All tables were covered with purple cloth and there was a candlestick in the center. The lights were set so the stage was fully illuminated and the tables barely had any light. Basil, Theo and Seth took their seats at one of the tables closer to the stage. It was a wooden platform with a curtain behind it and a microphone on stand. On the left there was a backstage entrance, guarded by another one of those bouncers who looked exactly like the other one - bald, beefy and in sunglasses with an earpiece communicator. "Highly secured place." Seth muttered. "I'm gonna hit the bar, before the show." Basil said. "You ladies want anything?" "Black Russian." Seth said. "Manhattan, please." Theo added. As Basil was busy with the bartender, a voice from the speakers announced: "Thank you for coming to the special performance in The Silver Lion. And now, please welcome that musical marvel, the delectable diva, the spectacular Singing Sorceress herself: Jasmine Night!" As the jazzy music started playing, a young woman entered the stage. Theo had to admit, she was gorgeous; tall, lean with short ink-black hair, vibrant red lips, green eyes and that expression of seductive pleasure, as if the entire audience were her toys. She had a satin red sheath gown with open back and black high heels. As soon as the instrumental ended, she got to the microphone and started singing: I got a cauldron, full of hot strong love and it's bubbling for you! Light the fires, but they're not as hot as my special witch's brew! Her voice was clear and beautiful and she certainly could capture all the people's attention. She was swaying her hips gently, slightly waving her arms, looking at every person and exposing her perfectly white teeth. The smile didn't look fake as well, she was really enjoying her performance. At the end of the first verse, three back-up singers joined her. They were all slender, beautiful women in blue cocktail dresses and matching shawls. "Is it her?" Seth whispered, looking at the main singer. At the same time Basil returned with the drinks. "It is." He answered. "Jessica Samedi. Now, let's enjoy the show." At the same time, Jessica noticed their table, just in time when the song reached the chorus. Oh, come and stir my cauldron. And if you do it right, I'll boil you up some hot, strong love to keep you warm tonight! "Oh, she noticed me." Basil grinned. "Now, it's gonna be fun." He was right; as soon as Jessica set her eyes on their table her gaze was more on more often locking on them and it seemed like some lines were sung just for Basil. After the song ended and the audience started to clap, Jessica had to turn her attention to them. "Thank you!" She smiled. "Thank you so much for coming here tonight! Now, as all you lovelies know..." Theo didn't even bother to listen to her speech, since it considered something that has recently happened in New Orleans. She sat through another song about the local sports team and she was going to ask Basil to grab Jessica's attention when... "Oh, that was amazing!" The woman said. "But... do you know what Jasmine needs right now? A-aside from her boa, thank you, darling." She said when one of her girls brought her green feathered boa. "And maybe a martini, Carl!" She called towards the bartender. "Send one backstage, please. Yes... I need... I need... Oh!" She set her eyes on Basil and smiled mischievously. "I need." In that moment, every member of the audience was looking with both surprise and jealously at their table. The charming back-up dancers were approaching as Jessica started the song with 'two-three-four'! ''You charmed the heart right out of me! Don't need no wings, I'm flying free! I think by now it's plain to see, I'm nothing without you! The girls forced Basil to stand up from his seat and circled him, inviting to come towards the stage. From the regular mortal point of view it looked like a regular audience participation but, by reading the emotions, Theo could tell Jessica was trying to question Basil's intentions. "Don't be nervous, love." She said. "They're here to see me, not you~." As the back-up girls started singing, Jessica led Basil to the right side of the stage and Theo noticed that they were talking quickly. Possibly she was asking why is he here. Apparently, Basil didn't get his answer because Jessica continued the song with a loud: 'I cannot forget you!' "Wow, she's good." Seth commented, leaning towards Theo. "And looks like our boy's also having fun." "I'm not sure." Daughter of Aphrodite answered. "Basil looks more annoyed that pleased. And the song itself is too... candy-coated if you ask me." "Really? I've never imagined you wouldn't like songs about love." Seth mused, smiling. As the song ended and the son of Hecate was allowed to take hit seat, Jessica - or Jasmine - announced her final song in today's show. And, as Theo predicted, it was another one addressed to Basil. You think you're quite the wizard, got me under your spell, But guess what, Mister Wizard, you don't know me so well Apparently, now it was a clear declaration that she can manage on her own, whatever fate has prepared for her. However, this time it wasn't she who needed help. It's us - Theo thought. Why would she try to send a message that she doesn't want help, when it's her who sent those invitations? Was this all just a joke, or maybe a need to show-off Jessica's vocal skills? After the final song, Jessica send kisses flying towards every member of the audience. "Thank you so much." She announced. "You were brilliant... but I was better! Haha! Now, I will see you lovelies very soon, but until that, this is Jasmine Night signing out!" With that, she exited the stage. Basil nodded at both girls; it was time for them to go and meet the star herself. O''' '''IN PROGRESS... Category:One-shot Category:Short Story Category:Joker's Creation Category:Ala Rubra Category:The Forgotten Tales